One of New Zealand's best known wineries if
Kim Crawford, makers of excellent Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay - among many others. The winery is pushing the social networking principle further than the usual suspects by creating their own "
The Artists' Lounge" - an "online community as a place for emerging artists and those who appreciate the arts to share inspirations and artwork with each other for the chance to inspire." The site consists of two lounges, The Artists' Lounge and a Music Lounge. The first contains an "Artists in Residence", a community of emerging artists representing various artistic categories: fashion, music, photography, print making and poetry. There is also a forum which allows members - anyone who registers - the ability to post ideas, "a work of art, or anything to ignite and inspire The Artists' Lounge community". Finally the The Artists' Lounge contains a Member Gallery where both members and resident artists can share their artwork.
Whereas this lounge will undoubtedly interest many readers, our focus and interest are in the Music Lounge. Every few months the lounge selects a handful of artists to showcase - some from Oceania, some from North America. We felt the site legitimize themselves immediately by selected
The Greencards and
Sarah Bettens as one of the initial artists. The remaining artists were unknown to us - one important rational for visiting the site - to find new artists. I really liked the soulful vocals of
Daphne Willis,
Nathan Gaunt, and the jazz sound of
Weather Pending and
Sutro. The others were also good:
Boh Runga,
John Zambricki,
Leftover Cuties, and
Van Risseghem. Now, the goal of any good social networking site is to draw traffic and promote their brand.
Kim Crawford's "
The Artists' Lounge" has perked our interest. Not only will we be regular visitors to this site - we plan to look for Crawford's wines during our next trip to Norm's Beer & Wine.
For some reason the day after Christmas I was craving beer so I headed to a local microbrew on the other side of the beltway: Franklin’s Brewery in Hyattsville, Maryland. The venue is located in a historic area that is somewhat on the decline, but from what I discovered, customer travel frequently from Washington D.C., nearby College Park, as well as local neighborhoods. The building was constructed over 130 years before as a blacksmith and carriage shop. And since 1910 it has served the community as a hardware store - turning into Franklins in 1992 with the brewpub added ten years later.
Today the brewpub was serving nine beers and I sampled each. For those hop heads, this is your place. A majority were hop infusions: the Sierra Madre Pale Ale, Private I.P.A, Anarchy Ale, and the Mission Accomplished. These beers are definitely more suitable for pairing with a meal - which the hops a great palate cleanser. My favorites were the Imperial Stout and the Twisted Turtle Pale Ale - the later an English-style pale ale made correctly in that style using Crystal and Pale Ale malts and Magnum and East Kent Goldings Hops. The finish was mildly hoppy - but lingered - a true English ale. This beer was also served using their nitro system - creating an even more English feel - soft and creamy. The Imperial Stout tasted as expected as well - a little high in alcohol but balanced by the dark flavors. In fact, most of these beers fit their billing, the Sierra Madre Pale Ale was a west-styled pale ale and the I.P.A. extremely hoppy; except for the Bombshell Blonde - billed as a Kolsch - wasn't as hoppy as expected and seemed to be more of a lager than ale. But in sum, these are good beers - and its nice to find a non-chain microbrew in the area. We will be back - particularly before or after trips to the University of Maryland basketball games.
